Lake Marion is the largest lake in South Carolina, centrally located and with territory within five counties. The lake is referred to as South Carolina's inland sea. It has a shoreline and covers nearly 110,000 acres of rolling farmlands, former marshes, and river valleylandscape. The Santee River was dammed in the 1940s to supply hydroelectric power, as part of the rural electrification efforts initiated under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal during the Great Depression. It is one of the fifty largest lakes in the United States, whether natural or man-made reservoirs, but at current capacity it is only about a third of the area of what, if filled to capacity, would be the fifteenth largest in area.
Origin
Lake Marion was created by the construction of the Santee Dam in November 1941, part of the state-owned electric and water utility Santee Cooper's Hydroelectric and Navigation Project. The project also included the construction of the Pinopolis Dam to create Lake Moultrie, immediately downstream, and a diversion canal seven and a half miles long to connect the two. The dam at Wilson's Landing is eight miles long and has 62 Tainter gates. Despite its size, the Santee Dam creates only 1.92 megawatts of hydropower. Hydroelectric facilities at Pinopolis Dam were designed to produce the lion's share of the original scheme: currently about 128 megawatts. In 1985, as part of a large-scale rediversion and redesign, the United States Army Corps of Engineers installed the St. Stephen Dam hydro facility to recapture lost generating capacity of another 84 megawatts. Lake Marion is fed by many tributaries, including Wyboo Creek and the Santee River, and also by numerous springs, including Eutaw Springs. The lake is named for the American Revolutionary WarGeneral Francis Marion. His former home of Pond Bluff was one of those flooded when the lake was created.
Location
Located in five of South Carolina's counties including: Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Sumter. Public access is provided through several public boat ramps, Santee State Park, and the Santee National Wildlife Refuge. Interstate 95 crosses the man-made lake near the Town of Santee. Lake Marion is home to several communities and camps for youth and students. Religious groups, fraternal organizations, and rowing teams come to Lake Marion each spring and summer due to its sheltered location, calm waters, and temperate climate.
